Abstract: German-American art historian who specialized in the areas of sculpture, bronzes, and the applied arts. The bulk of the collection
consists of Middeldorf's research files: clippings and bibliographic notations about the arts, particularly sculpture, drawings,
Renaissance medals, and applied arts such as costumes, textiles, furniture, and metalwork.

Ulrich Alexander Middeldorf, born in 1901, was a German-American art
historian who specialized in the study of sculpture, medals, and the minor and
applied arts. He was director of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Longhi
Institute, and then served as the director and librarian of the
Kusthistorisches Institute until his death in 1983.

In addition to his research specializations, Middeldorf had an abiding
interest in Italian art, and a collector's passion for the connection between
art and fiction. He assembled a collection of fiction, much of it popular,
paperback works, which include characters or plot lines that relate to art
(artists, art history, forgery, etc.). This collection of Art in Fiction was
acquired by the Getty Research Institute Library in 1984. Middeldorf's
correspondence with Sybille Pantazzi about his art in fiction collecting and
other interests (1966-1983) may be seen in Special Collections Accession no.
950004.

Scope and Content of Collection

The Ulrich Alexander Middeldorf papers contain some correspondence,
many clippings, also photographs, postcards, bibliographic and research notes,
as well as articles, offprints and annotated books, dating from ca. 1925 -1981.
These papers document his research interests and contacts with other art
historians and some students. His interests in Italian art, sculpture, medals
and the applied arts are evident in the research files which cover costume,
architecture, textiles, graphic arts, Italian artists, decorative arts, as well
as sculpture and medals. The collection comprises ca. 55 linear ft.

Various subjects: Bookbinding; International modern art;
Scandinavia; Photography; Exotic - various (incl. American Indian, South Seas,
Latin America); Egypt; Ancient Middle East

Box 17

Iconography

Series II.
Letters and bibliographic
notes,
ca. 1925-1981

Physical Description:
ca. 2 lin. ft.

Scope and Content Note

Series contains letters from scholars and colleagues and bibliographic notes, most of which were
pulled from Middeldorf's books, now in the Getty Research Library. One file of ca. 30 items consists of photocopies of
letters between Bernard Berenson and J. Paul Getty, 1956.

Box 18-19

Letters and bibliographic notes

Box 20-21

Bibliographic notes (unsorted)

Series III.
Journals and offprints,
ca. 1925-1981

Physical Description:
8.5 lin. ft.

Scope and Content Note

Publications sent to and collected by Middeldorf contain articles
by colleagues, reviews of books, and articles of interest to Middeldorf for his
research.

Box 22-38

unsorted

Series IV.
Annotated books,
ca. 1925-1981

Physical Description:
ca. 7.5 lin. ft.

Scope and Content Note

Series includes items from Middeldorf's library which contain significant
or extensive annotations. Annotations are by Middeldorf unless otherwise noted. Also includes
some notes, mss and printed matter, including scant correspondence, found in
the books in his library.

1 folder of letters, most to Middeldorf, regarding
offprints he sent to others to read and material others sent to him. Includes
letters from: Irwin Panofsky, Elizabeth Jastrow, John Pope Hennessy, ca. 10
letters, scattered dates, 1936-1962.